Tag: UK

Royal Mail last night moved closer totaking its regulator, Postcomm, to the competition commission despite winning final approval to increase first and second class post charges by 1p from April 17

Accusing Postcomm of asking Royal Mail to “sign up to three years of regulatory treacle” through strict price controls, chairman Allan Leighton insisted these would impose cuts in real terms.

Royal Mail, which says it is losing more than pounds 1m a day, has been given 28 days to respond to Postcomm’s latest proposals but its new board is expected to argue that the price controls put at risk its “renewal” plan to restore profitability within three years.

Royal Mail is considering an appeal to the Competition Commission after its regulator indicated a new package of price controls yesterday. The organisation had begged Postcomm to change its mind on original proposals, which pegged a penny increase on first- and second-class stamps to a complex formula to keep it from raising the average price of products. Yesterday’s revised proposals involved a “tariff basket” form of price control, which means that almost all Royal Mail services will still effectively be price-capped.